EXPLORE THE ART OF POSSIBILITY

@ crownpottery on Instagram

Rebecca strives to make pieces that align with her mantra, "Everything you touch should feel right to you and reflect a part of your unique personality. "  As a result of her participation in non-traditional educational opportunities and residencies in unusual art communities, Rebecca has come to view her art throught many different prisms - those of the expected and also those of the unusual, and she continues to surprise and delight the viewer/user as a result of this special background. A part of numerous exhibitions and the focus of several different publications, she has been acknowledged as a special artist by her peers, her clients, and those who continue to collect and use her art.  Her work continues to explore, expand and blur the line between functional everyday pieces and the creation of everyday ART. 

  "Art Washes Away From The Soul The Dust O Everyday Life" Pablo Picasso Fusing art with usefulness

@ Michael P. Franklin on Instagram

Michael has been working as a photographer or photo editor for almost 4 decades. Starting off at a small newspaper in Southern California and working his way to The San Diego Union-Tribune where he became an award-winning photographer and photo editor and eventually Director of Photography. During that time, he covered a wide variety of assignments including the Pope’s visit, the plight of the Mexican farm workers, professional sports and every type of feature and news assignments. This training helped shape his creative eye.  As a photo editor and Director of Photography, Michael worked to inspire and motivate a staff of very talented photographers and was honored with awards from organizations like the National Press Photographers Association, Society for News Design and Pictures of the Year.

Michael has been a judge for The Red Bull Illume action photography contest, Best of Photojournalism, Ohio Newspaper Photographers Association as well as several state, regional and local photography contests. He has been a speaker and panelist for California Newspaper Photographers Association, Asian American Journalists Association, as well as a faculty member for the Pinnacle photojournalism workshop and a photo journalist in residence for San Jose State University. Later after moving to Beijing, China he worked as Assistant Director of Photography at China Daily (an English language newspaper). There he spoke at Beijing Foreign Studies University and judged an Asia wide photography competition. 

After several years living in Beijing and Guangzhou, Michael moved to Havana with his wife Amy who was working as a Diplomat and their son Tigo who was born while they were in China. While in Havana, he worked for the U.S. Embassy during an historic time when U.S. and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations. Michael was asked to photograph a wide variety of visitors to Cuba including several cabinet members, Shaquile O’neal, Principal Balerina Misty Copeland and Jill Biden. While living in Cuba his daughter Mari was born. 

Photographing people has always been a passion for Michael but he has always had a love for nature. Since moving to Colorado, he has been drawn to the natural beauty, dramatic vistas and wildlife of the area. The North Fork Valley has been a wonderful setting to continue to hone that passion and find peace and stillness for nature photography. 

Website: Celia H. Calderon

Celia is a Mexican artist who has dedicted her life to the creation of beautiful works of art. She has lived in various places around the world, which has allowed her to explore different cultures and artistic styles.  In Mexico City She studied graphic design and then moved to Toronto where she discovered her love of stained glass and began her artistic journey.  After two years of working at her teacher's studio she returned home to start a family and opened her own stained glass studio.  She was one of the founders of the Mexican Art Glass Association.  She did extensive commission works for private clients, architects and interior designers and participated in numerous shows in galleries and museums around Mexico and Spain. In 1995 her husband's job brought the family to Austin, Texas where she continued with her studio and taught stained glass at the Laguna Gloria Art Museum.  that is where she became fascinated with the unique properties of the metal and started experminenting with different techniques to create intricate designs, patinas and textures.  In 2006 the family moved to Scottsdale, Az. where she began to expand her mixed media with oil paints and textiles.  There she participated in the Copper Binnial, several artists guilds and was juried into the world-renowned Arizona Fine Art Expo where she exhibited for several years.  Calderon is obsessed by 

texture and is always looking for new ways of creating more depthand dimension in her pieces.  She hopes to evoke in her viewers a sense of connection to Nature in a profound and meaningful way. 

Website: Free Range Ceramics

@free_range_ceramics on Instagram

A Littleton, Colorado native, Cale was encouraged from a young age to pursue his interests in art by his grandfather, a high school art teacher.  He went on to obtain his Bachelors of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Ceramics from Metro State University in 2008.  

Cale relocated to Colorado’s Western Slope in 2016 where he operates an organic farm with his life partner and draws daily inspiration from the rugged and unadulterated beauty of the Surface Creek Valley.  He creates pottery that is elegant yet functional and that celebrates his connection to the land, the elements within Nature, and his grounded yet rich life in rural Colorado.  

website:  Abbey J. Andersen 

@whistlingwhistlepig on Instagram.

Originally from the rainy Northwest, Abbey Anderson revels in dry deserts, craggy mountains, luscious foods, and setting tables in unexpected places all over the Western Slope.  With a BA in Studio Art and Creative Writing from Humbolt state University and many years spent exploring the world's unique nooks and crannies, Abbey delights in using her illustrations and clay work to celebrate the extrodinary qualities of the ordinary.  She draws inspiration from the whimsicalities of the natural world and intends to create engaging, functional pieces that provide occasion to connect, sip, savor, and otherwise partake in the many bounties that exist around us.  Abbey has been teaching after-school and adult art classes for nearly a decade, and currently sits on the board of Paonia's Elsewhere Studios.  Outside of her creative practice, Abbey works a a food systems coordinator to help redirect surplus farm fresh produce into Colorado's hunger relief network. 

Karen Good is a founding member of Paonia Clayworks where she has taught hand-building and sculptural techniques, wheel thrown work, glazing, and firing.  Karen holds an MA in Holistic Education for Antioch University/Seattle.  She taught for 24 years in public private and charter schools, including running her own one- romm K-8 school for 8 years in Washington State.  Her last seven years she served as Art Department Chair at the Orme School of Arizona, teaching ceramics, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, and directing the annual Orme Fine Arts Festival.  Karen was also a founder of Elsewhere Studios, an artist residency program in Paonia where she served as Executive Director from 2010 -2018.  During that time the program hosted over 200 visual artists, writers, composers and performance artists from 14 countries and 30 states.  Karen has always enjoyed working with her hands creating things from pots to drawings to building houses. Her particular love is Raku because she loves the process - being midwife to the birth of pots through the firing process - the richness of the glazes. 

Website: Meyghan Hill - (wh)OR HAUS STUDIOS

@(wh)OR HAUS STUDIOS on Instagram

Meyghan is a former fashion model turned welder.  Originally based in downtown Los Angeles, Meyghan relocated (wh)ORE HAUS STUDIOS to the Weestern slope of Colorado in 2020. Meyghan focuses primarily on furniture and the (wh)ORE HAUS aesthetic can best be described as provocative luxury.  She was the winner of The Los Angeles Design Festival's Best Emerging Designer in 2019 and her work can be seen in residential and commercial projects internationally as well as publications such as The New York Times, LA Times, Elle Decor, Architectural Digest and The Wall Street Journal.  

For inquiries, please email

info@whorehausstudios.com

Website:  luanacoonen.com

@luana-coonen-jewelry on Instagram

Luana Coonen is known for her nature inspired jewelry.  She designs modern talismans which encapsulate celestial movements and simple natural wonders.  Inspired by flora and the sciences, she seamlessly combines traditional and alternative materials such as diamonds, sapphires, polycarbonate , and leaf skeletons into wearable jewelry designs.  dedicated to sustainability, Luana works with Fair Trade gemstones, antique diamonds, recycled metals, carefully sourced & fully traceable materials.  with over 20 years in the jewelry field, ethics have alsways remained at the forefront of her sourcing.  

Born and raised in Hawaii, Luana moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to obtain her BFA in Jewelry/Metalsmithing.  She now lives in the small town of Paonia, Colorado where she runs a bustling jewelry business which is represented nationwide.  Her work has been covered by the New York TImes, San Francisco Chronicle, and she is a two-time recipient of the Niche award.  Luana's work has been featured in a variety of press, including movies and shows in which her pieces are worn by Jennifer Aniston and Rachel Ray. 

Resa Wells is a self-taught silversmith residing in Hotchkiss, Colorado. She works in sterling silver and argentium silver fabrication as well as precious metal clay and has 15 years’ experience in the mediums. Before retiring Resa was a horticulturist and consultant specializing in perennial and ornamental flower bed and containers. This experience is displayed in the organic nature of her one-of-a-kind pieces. Resa enjoys taking leaves, twigs and other found objects and transforming them into fine silver jewelry. Additionally, she likes hammering and reticulation of silver into unique works. Resa loves going to different gem and mineral show looking for unusual stones and other items to incorporate into her work.

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?

 Mosaic art is the oldest art form in existence, and Carol finds the process of painting in blocks of colors fascinating. As a tactile person, the tools used to create mosaic art allow her to shape shards, square tiles, or found objects; each piece laid with intention. Her desire is to create artwork that will invoke the imagination of art enthusiasts and awaken a love of color and form in people who have yet to develop a relationship with art.

It was at her father’s workbench where she developed a love of hands-on creation. He provided the tools and freedom for experimentation in designing and building objects from scratch materials. This experimentation sparked an interest in creating with a variety of materials often using found and upcycled materials. She first experimented in mosaic art at Colorado Free University in Denver, CO, and then after being transferred with her job to Charlotte, NC, Carol discovered Ciel Gallery, the only gallery in the nation at that time devoted to mosaic art. There, she honed her skills by participating in weekend intensive workshops with renowned mosaic artists including Sophie Drouin and Pamela Good. 

Carol comes from a corporate background in human resources. When she left that world behind, it was like coming home to her fundamental self. Over the last 15 years, Carol has exhibited primarily in the Southeast and has artwork in permanent art collections of Duke University Medical Center, Raleigh, NC, and North Carolina Medical Center, Pineville, NC. After returning to Colorado, Carol joined Kashi Kari, co-op gallery in Denver’s Santa Fe Arts District and exhibited with Colorado Mosaic Artists including the Loveland Art Museum. Carol shares her love of mosaic art through teaching most recently at Colorado Mountain College in Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, and the Washington Heights Arts Center, Lakewood, CO. 

Besides creating art, Carol has an interest in arts advocacy. Serving on boards of creative organizations such as Colorado Mosaic Artists, North Fork Creative Coalition and the Civic and Cultural Arts Center of Pineville, NC, she has fulfilled a need in herself to expose and educate people to the importance of the creative process. Volunteering on these boards allowed her to expand my own creative journey, and to share my business experience acquired from a lengthy corporate career. 

Since 2014, Carol has resided in Paonia, CO, with her two quirky cats, Zoe and Fritz. In addition to mosaics, she fiber art and oil painting.  

Website: Hilarysteinart.com

@_hastein_

Born  and raised in Western Colorado, 

Hilary Stein is an artist whose work is  formed by a deep connection to the land. She holds an MFA from the  Marchutz School in Aix-en-Provence, France and a BFA in Fine Arts and French from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN. 

She  currently spends her time teaching K-8 Art in Hotchkiss Colorado and  continues to devote herself to her painting practice. It is foundational  to her work to draw inspiration from the raw and austere landscape of  the high desert in which she lives and the abundance which springs from  it. Her painting is an exploration of one’s interrelation with the land  and of the longing to belong more harmoniously with it. 

Artist Lee Wanderer was born in Northern New Mexico, but Chicago, Denver and Southern California have also been called her home.  At the start of this century she moved to a serene bluff high above the ocean in San Clemente.  A planned 6 month stay blossomed into 20 years.  The ever-changing light on the hills and sea made for daily joys and plenty of inspiration.   A desire developed to learn how to create realistic looking paintings that could evoke mood and a sense of genuine peace.  She found her goal in the teachings of Classical European Atelier Painting.  That particular style had been left hehind in the US University system in favor of abstraction.  She enjoyed summer sessions at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy, then Sweden and eventually the one in Newark NJ.  There were additional classical painting workshops taught by David Leffel. Pleing Air instructors included Jeff Horn, Greg LaRock, Kevin Macpherson and Ignat Ignatov. Evening classes at Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art helped fill in the blanks and kept the inspiration going.  Lee worked 30 years as a live to air graphic designer/animator for network television and recently retired after the 10,000th episode of Entertainment Tonight with 2 Emmys, after which she moved to Paonia, Colorado.  Her exhibits include Art Directors Guild Gallery 800, a One Woman Show at the Orange County Airport, participation in the San Clemente Art Assoc., Blue Sage Center for the Arts, Root and Vine and now Grapevine Gallery